In Libya, two journalists detained without charge

New York, February 27, 2012--Libyan authorities must seek the
release of two British journalists who have been held in Tripoli by a local
militia for the past six days, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On Tuesday, the Saraya Swehli militia seized Nicholas Davies-Jones
and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson, freelance journalists who often work for Iran's Press TV, according
to news
reports. News accounts said the militia refused to transfer the journalists
to state authorities, and the commander of the militia, Faraj Swehli, denied Human
Rights Watch access to the journalists, the group reported.

The journalists were driving late at night in Tripoli and taking
photographs, which militia members deemed suspicious, a militia official told
Human Rights Watch. The militia later accused the journalists of not having
"proper immigration papers," HRW reported.
Local militias in Libya operate outside the law and often detain people at
whim, putting them at odds with the Libyan government, according to news
reports. Even under the new Libyan government, international journalists have
experienced difficulties in obtaining visas to the country, CPJ research shows.

"Libyan
officials should enforce the rule of law and immediately secure the release of Nicholas
Davies-Jones and Gareth Montgomery-Johnson and their driver," said Mohamed
Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "In a free
society, militias aren't allowed to go around detaining people who are taking
photographs."

The journalists' driver and two unnamed Libyans, whose relationship
with the journalists was unclear, were
also detained, news reports said. The five detainees were being held in the
Girls' Training Military College in Tripoli, news reports said.

The British Embassy was providing consular service to both
journalists, the BBC reported.